Journey

Artist Studio Visits

ArtThou began from an interest in figuring out how to increase accessibility to art and creativity. The journey began with interviewing artists in their studios in order to demystify what they do behind the scenes.

Aim 1: Can we increase access to art and creativity?

From working in a school in Tower Hamlets, we found that 70% of the students rarely left their borough.

Despite London having some of the best cultural institutions in the world, they are not available and accessible to everyone.

Aim 2: Could we develop more creative thoughtful community engagement?

Public art installations can excite whole neighbourhoods and galvanise a conversation around a particular issue.

Methods that surprise and delight people are the best way to gain rich insights and treat people like partners, not passive subjects of a research study. That is common sense but not common place.

Public Space

We want to make use of vacant shops or the unassuming bus stop - places where people go on a daily basis. WHY? because we want art to reach beyond the walls of a conventional museum, in actual communities.

We want to provide the opportunity for everyone’s views to be represented as the best ideas and wisdom for positive change in a community may come from unassuming people in places you might least expect.

For those of you who know of a public space that needs some love - get in touch

Case Study

Outside Haggerston overground, in the London Borough of Hackney, we installed two interactive signs. Which stated; 'Before I Die, I want to..", inspired by the participatory artist Candy Chang.

This resulted in a lot of responses over a period of 12 hrs as passer-bys covered the boards with their thoughts on what they wanted to do before they died.

This project gained substantial traction on social media, illustrating that compared to knocking on people’s doors, this is a fun and effective way to begin a conversation with local audiences.

ArtThou

Through enlivening spaces and inciting curiosity, ArtThou offers an alternative to traditional engagement methods, while also creating a more connected community.